


just help me run away from everyone

by unsaved_misc



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Introvert Noel Miller, Rust AU, Social Anxiety, based off that drawing i did, idk what to tag, ik it seems impossible, its literally just them meeting for the first time n talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:02:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28757790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unsaved_misc/pseuds/unsaved_misc
Summary: noel watches as a man picks up a tambourine and starts to make a beat, and he scoffs, turning away from them. maybe he’s being dramatic. maybe he’s just not good at talking to people. it doesn’t matter, because he is absolutely not here to make friends. no way.
Relationships: Noel Miller & Ethan Nestor
Kudos: 7





	just help me run away from everyone

**Author's Note:**

> HEYYYOOOOO if u watched the noel rust stream i love u <33 i wrote this just for fun based on a drawing i made so !! hope ya enjoy

noel doesn’t have friends. he feels like making relationships with the rosy-cheeked idiots in the swamp will only set him back further, despite the fact that he hasn’t gotten very far already. he works best when he’s alone. that’s just always how it’s been. he’s sitting a ways away from the campfire but not too far, the warmth faint against his cheeks. his hoodie is thick and baggy around his somewhat skinny frame, but it’s damp from the earlier rain and now the mist cloaking the group in muddy fog. noel is cold, but he detests the laughter and the conversation, so he doesn’t come over. noel watches as a man picks up a tambourine and starts to make a beat, and he scoffs, turning away from them. maybe he’s being dramatic. maybe he’s just not good at talking to people. it doesn’t matter, because he is absolutely  _ not  _ here to make friends. no way. 

he shivers, wrapping the hoodie closer around himself and watching his breath turn into vapor. he wonders if he should build his own fire, but really, he’s not sure how and he doesn’t think he has the right supplies. the rain had made the twigs damp, and the most he would get out of them was a cloud of smoke and disappointment. noel grabs at his backpack, unzipping it and searching for something he could use to warm himself. he finds nothing useful. a few cans of food he found from a crate. an axe for chopping wood, a journal. a stuffed puppy. instinctively, he looked up, wondering if anyone could see it, and he was met with a shock as he saw a man standing in front of him. well, a man was questionable. he looked short, and noel couldn’t tell if he was 17 or 24.

noel jumped and zipped up his bag hurriedly, wondering why this kid had even approached him in the first place. he tried to look intimidating, but the kid didn’t seem to mind, a kind smile on his face. he wore a blue beanie that made his brown hair stick out in big tufts, and his face was pink from the campfire. noel felt colder just looking at him. 

“hi. i’m ethan.” he greeted. noel wasn’t sure of what to say, feeling that press of anxiety in his lungs. he tried to push it down.

“noel.” he offered, and the kid seemed pleased.

“it’s nice to meet you. i felt bad that you were all alone over here. i’m more for banding together with people, i guess. but i have a tendency to ramble. sorry.” he looked genuinely apologetic. noel felt like his head was swimming. 

“if i’m talking too much, you can always tell me to shut up. i know how annoying it can be.” he toed at the mud with his sneaker, something blocky and detailed that noel liked. “are you sure you don’t want to come sit with us?”

_ not here to make friends. _

“nah, i’m good.” he refused, and ethan nodded, chewing on his lip. noel noticed he couldn’t stop fidgeting, rocking lightly on his feet and messing with the sleeves of his shirt.

“okay! that’s okay. just wanted to let you know in case you get really cold or something.” he looked like he was thinking about something, and noel still kept the tight grip on his bag, wondering if ethan was going to ask him for food. 

“can i sit with you?” he asked, and noel felt taken aback. why would someone want to sit back here with him when he was so far away from the fire, clothes damp and shivering? he felt so surprised he didn’t even think to say no, and honestly, this kid looked too nice to be mean to. he just nodded stoically and he watched ethan’s face light up a tad before he sat down.

“thanks. sometimes it gets a little hectic over there. i can’t even hear myself think.” he sat down next to noel, curling up his legs to his chest and laying his head on them. noel shuffled away a few inches.

“mikey is always  _ suuuper  _ talkative. but he’s funny, at least.” ethan watched as michael started dancing around the flames, dangerously close to the fire. noel wondered if he would fall into it.

“chris is kind of like our leader. sort of. it’s honestly really disorganized.” he turned to look at noel, who was just carving the end of his spear in silence. he could tune ethan out easily, but he didn’t really mind the one-sided conversation. 

“you’re not in a group, are you?” ethan asked. noel thought back to the group of people he’d run across in the beginning, wearing their big coats and backpacks with stacks of supplies at their side. one of them had a gun. noel didn’t stay long.

“nope.” he replied, watching the slivers of wood fall into the grass as he carved. ethan nodded, tilting his head against his knees.

“cool. you could always join ours if you want.”

“i’m fine.” he replied, deeming his spear sharp enough and putting his pocketknife away. ethan nodded, and noel could see the slight disappointment on his face. why did he care?

“alright.” ethan paused. “well, i hope we can stay friends even if you don’t want to come with us.” noel felt like he’d misheard ethan. 

“friends?” he asked in surprise. it seemed like such an important label for only knowing someone for five minutes. plus, noel did not feel worthy of being somebody’s friend  _ at all _ . what good was he to anyone?

“yeah! you seem cool. i’d like to consider you a friend.” ethan smiled, and noel felt...strange. he’d never had someone be so upfront about forming a friendship, someone who cared enough to approach him when he was on his own. usually, people got the hint and stayed away from noel as much as possible, letting him have his space to brood and glare. with ethan, forming a friendship felt strangely easy, and noel wasn’t that mad. he just felt...weird. ethan made pleasant conversation for a little while longer, chatting about how strangely pretty the swamps were and how building a house was hard work, and noel would answer with small grunts or nods. he wasn’t the best at conversation. eventually, ethan stood and wiped the dirt off of his pants, turning around to look at noel.

“i probably gotta get back to the group now. i’m surprised they haven’t roasted their weenies off.” he paused. “i hope i’ll see you more, noel. you’re a cool guy.” he waved, and with that, he was off, walking back toward the shouting voices. noel felt oddly alone then, like he’d just realized how cold and quiet he was for the first time. he could see how the glow of the fire illuminated ethan’s laughing face, and he shivered, wishing he had the courage to go over there. instead, he pulls out his journal, the pages yellowing and tattered. it’s completely empty, flipping to the first page and touching his pen to the paper.

Day 1

I made a friend today.


End file.
